Volleyball Season Ends Without an Ivy Win

For the second time since 2003, Columbia volleyball finished the season without an Ivy League win, as the Lions dropped their final two road games over the weekend. Columbia fell to Harvard 3-0 (30-21, 30-20, 30-24) in Cambridge on Friday and lost to Dartmouth 3-1 (30-17, 27-30, 30-16, 30-28) on Saturday.

The Crimson’s offense was clicking on all cylinders on Friday as the Crimson jumped to a 21-10 lead behind senior Laura Mahon’s 21 kills. The Lions responded with a 9-1 run to cut the Crimson lead to 28-21, but could not manage another kill as Harvard won the first set, 30-21. Columbia showed resiliency in the third set, rallying by 11 points to come within two with the score at 24-22, but Harvard used a 6-2 run to seal the win. Cassie Ligh and Ellie Thomas led the Lions with nine kills and 16 digs.

The Light Blue did not fare much better against Dartmouth, despite record-setting performances by Natalie Gerling and Cassie Thomas. Gerling posted a season-high 24 kills for the Lions and finished second in school history with 1,143 career kills. On defense, Thomas posted 21 digs for the Lions, setting a new single-season record with 400. But the Lions could only salvage a win in the second set, 30-27, and dropped their final match 3-1.

The loss marked a 3-23 season where Columbia finished winless in conference play. The Lions were outscored 1,348-1,045 for the season and managed only 1,306 digs on the season compared to 1,551 by their opponents. This season was the first for acting head coach Brie Katz, who stepped in after Monica Holmes’ departure.